Methods and systems for analyzing and providing data for business services

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for collecting information may include receiving one or more inputs of information related to a business experience. In addition, the apparatus and methods may include storing the received business information. The methods may also include analyzing the received information to generate one or more targeted recommendations; and forwarding the one or more targeted recommendations to management of the business.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/330,309, filed on Dec. 19, 2011, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/424,453, titled “Methods and Systems forAnalyzing and Providing Data for Hotel Services,” filed on Dec. 17,2010, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

Aspects of the present invention relate to methods and systems foranalyzing, collecting, and providing data for business services. Inparticular, aspects of the present invention relate to methods andsystems for aiding business in providing guest services, collectinginformation for guest services, and tracking guest information directlyfrom guests who are using computer-aided devices.

Background

A typical hotel has a large number and/or variety of guests staying withthe hotel during a calendar year. The hotel typically attempts to caterto a majority of hotel guests by providing a wide variety of diningoptions, hotel amenities, and hotel services to encourage the hotelguests to spend time and/or money in the hotel. If the hotel guests dineoutside of the hotel, the hotel may have difficulty tracking hotelguests' preferences and the hotel loses the revenue from the hotel guestdining in the hotel. Thus, there is a need in the art for methods andsystems for capturing data relating to hotel guests, performing trendanalysis and data mining based upon the captured data, and generatingreports based upon the analysis. A similar situation occurs withrestaurants, where individuals are interested in specific types ofordering options and specials. Such systems and methods would enable thehotel or restaurant to provide targeted services and/or advertising to aguest staying in a hotel to increase the amount of time and/or money thehotel guest spends in the hotel.

Additionally, guests want a full-service hotel that caters to theirpreferences, and therefore it is essential to capture information aboutand offer the best services in the area specific to a guest's needs.Hotel guests may ask hotel staff, such as concierges, forrecommendations for dining options and/or places of interest around thehotel. Hotel staff frequently changes jobs and/or positions within thehotel. Thus, the hotel as an organization may not be able to retain theinformation available to any specific hotel staff, e.g., whatrestaurants are popular and/or what events guests enjoy attending.Therefore, there is a further need in the art to capture the knowledgeof the hotel staff about the hotel guests' preferences and correlate thehotel staff's knowledge with the captured data when generating thereports and recommendations.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present invention include methods and apparatus forcollecting and analyzing data. The methods and apparatus may includereceiving one or more inputs of information related to a businessexperience and storing the received information. In addition, themethods and apparatus may include analyzing the received information togenerate one or more targeted recommendations. The methods and apparatusmay include forwarding one or more targeted recommendations tomanagement of the business.

Aspects of the present invention may also include methods and apparatusfor receiving one or more user inputs of information related to abusiness experience. The methods and apparatus may further includestoring the received information and performing an action based upon thereceived information.

Additional advantages and novel features relating to aspects of thepresent invention will be set forth in part in the description thatfollows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in theart upon examination of the following or upon learning by practicethereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates various features of an example computer system foruse in conjunction with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example system diagram of various hardwarecomponents and other features for use in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 3A-3G illustrate a device in accordance with yet another aspect ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method of analyzing data in accordancewith another aspect of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5A-5U illustrate example interfaces for use with aspects of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present invention relate to methods and systems for,among other purposes, aiding business, such as but not limited to,hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, malls, and condominiums in providingguests services and tracking employee knowledge and guest information.In addition, aspects of the present invention also relate to methods andsystems for aiding business guests during the guests' visit to thebusiness (e.g., during the guests' stay at the hotel or meal at arestaurant) and aiding business guests before and after the visit.

Aspects of the present invention may be implemented via one or more userinterface features (also referred to interchangeably herein as“platforms”), which assist users with enhancing their experience at agiven business, such as a hotel or restaurant. While the belowdescription provides hotel and restaurant examples, it should be notedthat the described aspects may relate to a variety of businessesincluding, but not limited to, hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, malls,and condominiums. The interactive platform may provide flexibility forcustomizing unique or specific issues relating to a particularrestaurant or hotel and/or guests. For example, the platform may receiveinputs regarding personal and/or restaurant or hotel preferences, suchas language preferences and/or dietary preferences, among other userpreferences.

The interactive platform may include a series of interactive interfacesand other database or repository interfaces that may provide at leastthe following capabilities: personalizing the interactive platform;controlling room comforts (e.g., the room lighting, temperature andblinds); ordering room service, event tickets, or car services;providing information and/or messages about events taking place in thehotel (e.g., happy hour in forty five minutes or the end of thebreakfast buffet in thirty minutes); providing information about hotelamenities (e.g., hotel dining options, hotel spa and fitness centers,and shops in the hotel); providing information about area attractionsand dining options; providing maps and directions to area attractionsand/or restaurants; capturing data relating to the selected servicesand/or dining options by the user; analyzing the captured data; andproviding reports and user notifications based upon the analyzed data,among other system capabilities. The series of interactive interfacesmay be organized by menus and/or icons on a screen, for example, asillustrated in FIGS. 5A-5U.

After a user logs into the system, the user may have access toinformation for any number of hotel services and/or area attractions,for example. The type of information the user may be able to use maydepend on what data has been made available and the level of the user'sprivileges on the system. For example, a user may be a hotel guest,which may allow the user to have access to the hotel information, areaattraction information, dining information, or other information thatmay be of interest to the hotel guest. The hotel guest also may have theoption to select different levels of increasing privacy when using thesystem. For example, the guest may select the various levels of privacy(e.g., a highly restrictive privacy option if the guest is accompaniedto the hotel by a family member and a lower restrictive privacy optionif the guest is unaccompanied).

Another user may be hotel staff, such as a concierge or hotel manager,which may allow the user to input information and/or recommendationsinto the system. For example, the concierge may input recommendationsfor popular restaurants in the area and/or local area attractions alongwith annotations about the type of guest that would prefer that item.The recommendations may be transmitted and displayed on the interactiveinterface for other users of the system to view. Hotel staff may alsoinput demographic information and/or other guest information into thesystem that may be correlated with the received inputs from hotel gueststo provide statistics and/or other data analysis on the received guestinformation.

In addition, hotel staff may receive requests on the system from otherusers of the system, such as hotel guests. For example, if a hotel guestrequests tickets to a theater event using the system, the hotel staffmay receive a notification by the system that the hotel guest hasrequested the tickets and may purchase the requested tickets for thehotel guest. In addition and/or alternatively, the hotel staff mayprovide the hotel guest recommendations for seat selection,transportation, and/or dining options near the theater.

In an aspect, the system may analyze data provided by the users andgenerate reports based upon the data. Hotel staff may have access toreports generated based upon information provided by hotel guests usingthe system. For example, a report may indicate that a majority of hotelguests are using the interactive interface to select dining options atan Asian restaurant nearby the hotel, and thus, the hotel may decide toincrease the amount of Asian food offered on the hotel restaurant's menubased upon the report. The analyzed data may be used to tailor theservices being offered by the hotel and/or to increase the amount ofrevenue generated by the hotel. In addition, the analyzed data may beused to tailor the information presented to the user. For example, ifthe user selects a vegetarian dietary preference, the system may providethe user with information for restaurants in the hotel and surroundingarea that have vegetarian food options.

The interactive platform may be included in a device, such as a terminal300 as illustrated in FIG. 3A. Terminal 300 may include a first part 302which may include an interface 306 for receiving inputs from the userand/or outputting information to the user. Interface 306 may include,for example, a display, a keyboard, a speaker, and/or a microphone,among other interfaces. In an aspect, interface 306 may be a touchscreen display that can display information to a user and/or receiveinputs from a user. User inputs may include, but are not limited to,selecting a category of information (e.g., dining options, fitnesscenter, event tickets, or hotel information), ordering food from roomservice, scheduling an appointment, setting an alarm, or controllingfeatures in the room, among other forms of user input. The first part302 may also include a computing system that communicates with theinterface 306 to process the user's inputs and/or provide information tothe user.

Terminal 300 may also include a transmitter and a receiver forinterfacing with one or more systems external to the terminal 300. Oneor more systems may include, but are not limited to, controls in theroom (e.g., light controls, temperature controls, television controls,radio controls, and curtain controls); a computing system (e.g., aserver, a cloud hosting system, and a data repository); or a hotelsystem (e.g., a concierge phone and/or messaging system); among othersystems. For example, interface 306 may receive an input from the userto adjust the room temperature (e.g., increase and/or decrease thetemperature). Terminal 300 may interface with temperature controls inthe room to adjust the room temperature accordingly based upon thereceived user input. In an aspect, terminal 300 may use a wirelessconnection, such as WiFi, to connect to a cloud computing system thatmay include information relating to the hotel and/or the surroundingarea. In addition, the terminal 300 may transfer the users' selectionsto the computing system that may store and analyze the received data.

In another aspect, terminal 300 may use infrared signaling to controlthe lights in the room (e.g., lower and/or increase the lights). Forexample, the user may input commands into the interface 306 to lower thelights in the hallway. Commands may occur, for example, via text orvoice. Terminal 300 may send a control signal to the light switch in thehallway to lower the lights. It should be appreciated that the user mayuse the terminal 300 to control one or more controls in the room.

Terminal 300 may further include a magnetometer and/or compass fordetecting directional movement of the terminal 300 and/or providingdirectional information to attractions surrounding the hotel. It shouldbe appreciated that the directional information may include, but is notlimited to, cardinal and ordinal directions; a graphical representationof the surrounding area; and names, locations and distances from thehotel to the locations and/or attractions; among other directionalinformation.

Terminal 300 may also include a power supply and a power cord. In anaspect, the power supply may include a rechargeable battery that maylast around six to eight hours before requiring recharging. Terminal 300may also incorporate one or more handles to allow the hotel guest totransport terminal 300 between locations inside and/or outside thehotel, such as near a window or on a patio. Thus, terminal 300 may beportable and capable of moving around a room for easier use and/oraccessibility. In an aspect, terminal 300 may also include software forplaying a selection of videos and music favorites, for example, throughspeakers and/or a display on terminal 300 based on the hotel guests'preferences as cataloged during previous visits.

In addition, terminal 300 may include a second part 304 that is operablyconnected to the first part 302. The second part 304 may be, forexample, a rotating base that may include a rotating threshold thatprevents the base 304 from rotating past the threshold. For example, therotating base 304 may include a physical stop to prevent the base 304from rotating more than three hundred and sixty degrees. In an aspect,the base 304 may include a non-skid material, such as rubber, plastic,or neoprene, among with other non-skid materials, affixed to the base304 to prevent damage to the furniture and/or fixtures from the terminal300. In addition, the second part 304 may surround the power cord and/orother power supplies for the terminal 304.

It should be appreciated that terminal 300 may be made of a variety ofmaterials that are durable. In an aspect, terminal 300 may be stainlesssteel with a glass touch screen for interface 306. In addition, terminal300 may be made of a material that is easy to clean and disinfectbetween uses without damaging the internal electronics and/or exteriorfinishes. Using a material that is easy to clean and disinfect may allowa user to use the terminal 300 without the worry of contractingcommunicable diseases.

Referring now to FIGS. 3B-3G, example diagrams illustrate variouscomponents of terminal 300 in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 3B, the first part 302 of terminal 300 maybe operably connected to the second part 304, e.g., a base, of terminal300 via, for example, a housing 324. The housing 324 may allow the firstpart 302 to rotate relative to the base 304 so that a user may view theinterface 306 from a variety of positions. In addition, a user mayrotate the first part 302 when using a compass component and/or mapcomponent of the interface 306 to identify various locations and/orpositions surrounding the terminal 300.

Referring now to FIGS. 3C-3F, therein illustrated are example componentsof housing 324 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.Housing 324 may comprise a support base 308 in the shape of a squareoperably connected to a support collar 310 in the shape of a circle. Thesupport collar 310 may include a center hole 320 into which a cylinder312 may be operably connected, as illustrated in FIG. 3C. For example,the cylinder 312 may be welded to the support collar 310 and the centerhole 320. The support collar 310 may also have a rotation stop 314operable to prevent the support collar 310 from rotating more than threehundred and sixty degrees, as illustrated in FIGS. 3C-3F. The cylinder312 may have a spline 316 connected to the cylinder 312 so that when thespline 316 comes into contact with the rotation stop 314, the supportcollar 310 may be prevented from rotating more than three hundred andsixty degrees.

Referring now to FIG. 4, method 400 for analyzing data captured via theinteractive platform may include receiving user input 402. For example,the user inputs may include information relating to a businessexperience, such as a hotel experience or restaurant experience. Userinput may include, but is not limited to, guest demographic information(e.g., age or gender), recommendations (e.g., restaurant and/or eventrecommendations), selecting a category of information (e.g., diningoptions, fitness center, event tickets, or hotel information), orderingfood from room service, scheduling an appointment, setting an alarm, orcontrolling features in the room, among other forms of user input. Forexample, the system may transmit the received user input to a remotecomputing system, such as a cloud computing architecture for dataprocessing and/or storage.

The method 400 may also include storing the received user input 404. Thereceived user input may include metadata, such as a user identification(ID), a device ID, or a hotel ID, among other metadata. In an aspect,the received user input may be stored in a data repository on the remotecomputing system based upon the metadata, e.g., the user ID, the deviceID and/or the hotel ID. It should be noted that the user may also createa profile specifying that the information received from the user inputmay not be allowed to be collected and/or cataloged.

In an aspect, the method may include performing an action based upon thereceived input. Actions may include, but are not limited to, presentinga room service menu, providing an order for room service, turning on alight, turning off a light, adjusting a room temperature, providingdirections to a location, ordering tickets to an activity, making areservation at a restaurant, and purchasing products, among otheractions.

The method may further include analyzing the received user input 406.Analyzing the received user input may include applying one or morealgorithms to the user input. The algorithms may include, but are notlimited to, searching for patterns in the user input; discerningsubcategories of users that would be interested in dining at aparticular restaurant; determining what type of food a user wouldtypically eat; examining menus to determine what categories of cuisineto offer the user based upon the determinations; providing trends and/orstatistics based upon user demographic information and/or user purchasehistories; and providing targeted recommendations to users based uponpast selections and/or purchases, among other algorithms. The algorithmsmay also include predictive algorithms capable of anticipating andassessing the probability of when a specific guest may return to thehotel, unaccompanied or not, and the possible reason for the trip.Information within this system may also be analyzed in conjunction withpublicly accessible data sources to provide up-to-date information, aswell as aggregation of public and hotel recommendations. Informationinput from the hotel staff will also be integrated, and a set ofweighted algorithms applied to come up with the best aggregaterecommendations for guests. This may allow the hotel to send tailoredinformation to guests ahead of time with upcoming events and possibleproducts and services.

The method may further include forwarding one or more targetedrecommendations to management of the business 408, such as management ofthe hotel or restaurant. Targeted recommendations may include, but arenot limited to, changing services provided by the hotel (e.g., addingspa services to the hotel); providing advertisements for servicesoffered by the hotel; changing dining options in the hotel (e.g., addingand/or removing cuisines offered by the hotel), and changing amenitiesprovided by the hotel (e.g., fitness centers, pools, etc.). In oneaspect, the targeted recommendations may include one or more generatedreports based upon the analyzed data. The reports may include generalstatistics based upon an average of hotel guests and/or the reports maycategorized by user demographics, time of year, time of day, or othersubcategories for reporting. In addition, the reports may be customizedbased upon user input. For example, the user may enter in categoriesand/or a date range for generating the reports. Thus, the reports may beused by the hotels to target the services provided by the hotel (e.g.,the type of food offered on the menus, the type of restaurants in thehotel, and amenities and/or services provided by the hotel) so that thehotel may provide better customer services and/or increase revenues.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A-5U, therein illustrated are example graphicaluser interface (GUI) screens illustrating example implementations ofaspects of the present invention. An example GUI screen 500 forpersonalizing a user profile in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention is illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5C. GUI screen 500 may display alist of personalization categories that a user may select forpersonalizing the user profile. Personalization categories may include,but are not limited to, food allergies, dietary restrictions, languagepreference (e.g., English, French, Spanish, etc.), religious preference,and privacy settings, among other categories for personalization. Inaddition, a user may personalize a user profile by uploading aphotograph and/or other image of the user that was taken, for example,by a front desk of the hotel. For example, a user may select to updateany food allergies 504 that the user has by selecting the type of foodsthat the user is allergic too (e.g., wheat, shellfish, peanuts, etc.),as illustrated in FIG. 5C. After the user selects the type of foods thatthe user is allergic too, the system may remove one or more foodscontaining the food allergies entered by the user from being presentedto the user when the user, for example, uses the system to view a roomservice menu.

Referring back to FIG. 5A, a user may also select privacy settings 502to personalize a level of privacy for the user's profile and/or reviewprivacy settings previously selected. For example, the user may selectwhether to allow the system to observe the user selections and/orchoices made by the user so that the system may provide recommendationsfor the user based upon the user's selections, as illustrated in FIG.5B. In addition, the user may select one or more levels of privacy whileinteracting with the system. For example, the user may select a firstrestrictive privacy option, e.g., a highly restrictive privacy option,when the user is accompanied by family members. A second privacy optionmay be selected when the user is accompanied by the user's coworkers orbusiness partners. A third, and least restrictive privacy option, may beselected when the guest is unaccompanied. When the user chooses theunaccompanied option, all previously recorded information on dining,entertainment and recreational choices may be used to update therecommendations to be presented to the user during their subsequent stayat the hotel. For example, if the hotel guest prefers to frequent aparticular night club or consume alcoholic beverages when unaccompanied,this night club or type of beverage may not be displayed as arecommendation for entertainment or dining if the user selects the firstand/or second privacy options (e.g., the user is accompanied by familymembers, coworkers, or business partners).

Referring to FIG. 5D, therein illustrated is an example menu of servicesand/or information capable of being accessed by the system. For example,if a user selects help button 514, instructions and/or instructionalvideos may be presented to a user explaining how to use the system, asillustrated in FIG. 5E.

Referring back to FIG. 5D, the user may select an item from the menu toobtain additional information about hotel services and/or activities orlocal area attractions. For example, if the user selects the “FineDining” category 506, interface 508 may be presented with additionalinformation for dining options that the system recommends around thehotel, as illustrated in FIG. 5G. For example, interface 508 may presenta map 510 showing the location of six restaurants that the systemrecommends for the user. Map 510 may illustrate, for example, a streetview and/or a satellite image of the location of the six restaurants. Inaddition, interface 508 may present a list 512 of the six recommendedrestaurants shown on map 510, as well as any additional restaurants thatmay be near the hotel. The user may select a restaurant from the list,e.g., Axis Café, and map 510 may rotate to the selected restaurant andillustrate directions to the restaurant. In addition, additionalinformation about the selected restaurant may be presented, such asimages of the restaurant, menus, and reviews. The user may select areservation button on the system to forward a request to the conciergeto make a reservation for the user at the selected restaurant.

Referring back to FIG. 5D, if a user selects the “Fine Arts and Music”category 516, interface 520 may be presented with information about oneor more museums in the area along with a map illustrating where themuseums are located. The user may be able to rotate the map to variouslocations that are indicated, e.g., by a star, to view the locationand/or directions to the various locations. For example, the user maypush the plus (+) button above the map to rotate the mapcounterclockwise to the nearest star, e.g., Musee d'Axis (magneticheading of 108 degrees from the hotel), or the user may push the minus(−) button above the map to rotate the map clockwise to the neareststar, e.g., the Soapera House (magnetic heading of 012 degrees from thehotel). The user may select a museum, e.g., Musee d'Axis, and additionalinformation for the museum may be presented, as illustrated in FIG. 5I.

Referring back to FIG. 5D, if a user selects the “Room Service” category522, a room service menu may be presented to the user, as illustrated inFIGS. 5J and 5O. Upon a user selecting a food or beverage option 524from the room service menu, e.g., two eggs any style, interface 530 maybe presented to the user displaying, for example, ingredients for theselected food or beverage, nutritional information, and the price forthe selected food or beverage, as illustrated in FIG. 5K. Interface 530may also provide a user with an option to submit an order request byselecting, for example, order request button 532. An order request mayinclude, but is not limited to, instructions for how a selected fooditem should be prepared, as illustrated in FIG. 5L. In addition,interface 530 may provide a user an option to review an order prior tosubmitting the order to room service by selecting the review orderbutton 534. Reviewing an order may include, reviewing the items ordered,the price for the items ordered, and any service and gratuity charges,as illustrated in FIG. 5M. In addition, the user may have an option toremove items from the order and/or add additional items to the order, asillustrated in FIGS. 5N-5Q.

Referring back to FIG. 5D, if a user selects the “Room Comforts”category 536, interface 538 may be presented with a menu of room comfortselections, as illustrated in FIG. 5R. In addition, interface 538 mayinclude any specials and/or advertisements for products that the hotelmay sell, such as products that are used in the rooms, e.g., skin careproducts, bath products, bathrobes, etc. For example, if a user selectsthe “Skin Care Products” category 540, the user may have an option toorder one or more skin care products sold by the hotel, as illustratedin FIGS. 5S-5U.

Aspects of the present invention may be implemented using hardware,software, or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or morecomputer systems or other processing systems. In an aspect of thepresent invention, features are directed toward one or more computersystems capable of carrying out the functionality described herein. Anexample of such a computer system 100 is shown in FIG. 1.

Computer system 100 includes one or more processors, such as processor104. The processor 104 is connected to a communication infrastructure106 (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). Varioussoftware aspects are described in terms of this example computer system.After reading this description, it will become apparent to a personskilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement aspects of the inventionusing other computer systems and/or architectures.

Computer system 100 can include a display interface 102 that forwardsgraphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure 106(or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit 130.Computer system 100 also includes a main memory 108, preferably randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 110. Thesecondary memory 110 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 112and/or a removable storage drive 114, representing a floppy disk drive,a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storagedrive 114 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 118 in awell-known manner. Removable storage unit 118, represents a floppy disk,magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written toremovable storage drive 114. As will be appreciated, the removablestorage unit 118 includes a computer usable storage medium having storedtherein computer software and/or data.

Alternative aspects of the present invention may include secondarymemory 110 and may include other similar devices for allowing computerprograms or other instructions to be loaded into computer system 100.Such devices may include, for example, a removable storage unit 122 andan interface 120. Examples of such may include a program cartridge andcartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), aremovable memory chip (such as an erasable programmable read only memory(EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) and associated socket,and other removable storage units 122 and interfaces 120, which allowsoftware and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 122to computer system 100.

Computer system 100 may also include a communications interface 124.Communications interface 124 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 100 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 124 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.Software and data transferred via communications interface 124 are inthe form of signals 128, which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 124. These signals 128 are provided to communicationsinterface 124 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 126. This path126 carries signals 128 and may be implemented using wire or cable,fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF)link and/or other communications channels. In this document, the terms“computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to refergenerally to media such as a removable storage drive 180, a hard diskinstalled in hard disk drive 170, and signals 128. These computerprogram products provide software to the computer system 100. Theinvention is directed to such computer program products.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory 108 and/or secondary memory 110. Computer programsmay also be received via communications interface 124. Such computerprograms, when executed, enable the computer system 100 to perform thefeatures in accordance with aspects of the present invention, asdiscussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed,enable the processor 110 to perform the features in accordance withaspects of the present invention. Accordingly, such computer programsrepresent controllers of the computer system 100.

In an aspect of the present invention where the invention is implementedusing software, the software may be stored in a computer program productand loaded into computer system 100 using removable storage drive 114,hard drive 112, or communications interface 120. The control logic(software), when executed by the processor 104, causes the processor 104to perform the functions described herein. In another aspect of thepresent invention, the system is implemented primarily in hardwareusing, for example, hardware components, such as application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardware statemachine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparentto persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the invention isimplemented using a combination of both hardware and software.

FIG. 2 shows a communication system 200 usable in accordance withaspects of the present invention. The communication system 200 includesone or more assessors 260, 262 (also referred to interchangeably hereinas one or more “users”) and one or more terminals 242, 266. In oneaspect of the present invention, data for use is, for example, inputand/or accessed by accessors 260, 264 via terminals 242, 266, such aspersonal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframe computers,microcomputers, a television interface, telephonic devices, mobiledevices, or wireless devices, such as personal digital assistants(“PDAs”) or a hand-held wireless devices coupled to a server 243, suchas a PC, minicomputer, mainframe computer, microcomputer, or otherdevice having a processor and a repository for data and/or connection toa repository for data, via, for example, a network 244, such as theInternet or an intranet, and couplings 245, 246, 264. The couplings 245,246, 264 include, for example, wired, wireless, or fiber optic links. Inanother aspect of the present invention, the method and system of thepresent invention operate in a stand-alone environment, such as on asingle terminal.

While the present invention has been described in connection withaspects of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that variations and modifications of the aspects of thepresent invention described above may be made without departing from thescope of the invention. Other aspects will be apparent to those skilledin the art from a consideration of the specification or from a practiceof the invention disclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for collecting and receivinginformation via an apparatus provided by a business and a remote server,the method comprising: determining, at the apparatus, a directionalmovement of the apparatus; displaying, at the apparatus, a plurality ofcategories related to a good or service offered by the business to afirst user based upon a level of privacy selection of the first user;receiving, at the apparatus, a first input of information from the firstuser related to the service or good offered by the business; filtering,at the apparatus, the received first input of information from the firstuser based upon the level of privacy selection of the first user;storing, at the apparatus, the first input of information; analyzing, atthe apparatus, the first input of information by applying an algorithmwhich is configured to anticipate or search for patterns in the firstinput by the first user and to generate a targeted recommendationderived from the first input of information; generating, at theapparatus, a report based on the targeted recommendation; transmitting,to the remote server, the generated report comprising the targetedrecommendation; updating, at the remote server, in response to thetargeted recommendation, at least one good or service from a pluralityof goods or services offered by the business to the first user and asecond user based on the targeted recommendation; providing, from theremote server, for display by the apparatus or a second apparatusprovided by the business, the plurality of categories relating to thegood or service offered by the business including the at least oneupdated good or service to the second user based upon a level of privacyselection of the second user; and providing, via the apparatus,directions to the first user, to a selected local area attraction from alist of recommended local area attractions generated based on the firstinput of information and on the determined directional movement of theapparatus.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first input ofinformation comprises at least one of guest demographic information,dining selections, room service orders, activity selections, and productpurchases.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the targeted recommendationcomprises at least one of changing services offered by the business,providing advertisements for services offered by the business, changingdining options offered by the business, providing additional diningoptions offered by the business, and changing amenities provided by thebusiness.
 4. An apparatus provided by a business for collectinginformation comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memoryand configured to: determine directional movement of the apparatusprovided by the business; display a plurality of categories related to agood or service offered by a business to a first user based upon a levelof privacy selection of the first user; receive a first input ofinformation from the first user related to the service or good offeredby the business; filter the received first input of information from thefirst user based upon the level of privacy selection of the first user;store the first input of information; analyze the first input ofinformation by applying an algorithm which is capable of anticipating orsearching for patterns in the first input by the first user and togenerate a targeted recommendation derived from the first input ofinformation; generate a report based on the targeted recommendation;transmit the generated report comprising the targeted recommendation toa remote server, and update, in response to the recommendation, at leastone good or service from a plurality of goods or services offered by thebusiness to the first user and a second user based on the targetedrecommendation; display the plurality of categories relating to the goodor service offered by the business including the at least one updatedgood or service to the second user based upon a level of privacyselection of the second user; and provide directions to the first user,to a selected local area attraction from a list of recommended localarea attractions generated based on the first input of information andon the determined directional movement of the apparatus provided by thebusiness.
 5. The apparatus provided by the business of claim 4, whereinthe processor is further configured to: receive a second input ofinformation from the first user; perform an action based upon the secondinput of information; and perform at least one of turning on a light ina room, turning off a light in a room, adjusting a room temperature,adjusting curtains in a room, and adjusting blinds in a room, based onthe second input of information.
 6. The apparatus provided by thebusiness of claim 5, wherein the action further comprises at least oneof presenting a room or restaurant service menu, providing an order forroom or restaurant service, ordering tickets to an activity, making areservation at a restaurant, and purchasing products.
 7. The apparatusprovided by the business of claim 5, wherein the memory is furtherconfigured to: store the second input of information in association withthe first user who provided the second input of information.
 8. Theapparatus provided by the business of claim 7, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: provide a second recommendation to the first userbased on the second input of information.
 9. The apparatus provided bythe business of claim 8, wherein the second recommendation comprises atleast one of an event, local area attractions, dining options, andproducts for purchase.
 10. A computer product comprising a durablecomputer readable medium having control logic stored therein for causinga computer to collect information, the control logic comprising:computer readable program code means for determining directionalmovement of the computer; computer readable program code means fordisplaying a plurality of categories related to a good or serviceoffered by a business to a first user based upon a level of privacyselection of the first user; computer readable program code means forreceiving a first input of information from the first user related tothe good or service offered by the business; computer readable programcode means filtering the received first input of information from thefirst user based upon the level of privacy selection of the first user;computer readable program code means for storing the first input ofinformation; computer readable program code means for analyzing thefirst input of information by applying an algorithm which is capable ofanticipating or searching for patterns in the first input by the firstuser and to generate a targeted recommendation derived from the firstinput of information; computer readable program code means forgenerating a report based on the targeted recommendation; computerreadable program code means for transmitting the generated reportcomprising the targeted recommendation, and updating, in response to therecommendation, at least one good or service from a plurality of goodsor services offered by the business to the first user and a second userbased on the targeted recommendation; computer readable program codemeans for displaying the plurality of categories relating to the good orservice offered by the business including the at least one updated goodor service to the second user based upon a level of privacy selection ofthe second user; and computer readable program code means for providingdirections to the first user, to a selected local area attraction from alist of recommended local area attractions generated based on the firstinput of information and on to the determined directional movement of anapparatus provided by the business.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a second input of information from the first user;performing an action based upon the second input of information; andperforming at least one of turning on a light in a room, turning off alight in a room, adjusting a room temperature, adjusting curtains in aroom, and adjusting blinds in a room, based on the second input ofinformation.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the action comprises atleast one of presenting a restaurant or room service menu, providing anorder for restaurant or room service, ordering tickets to an activity,making a reservation at a restaurant, and purchasing products.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising storing the second input ofinformation in association with the first user who provided the secondinput of information.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingproviding a second recommendation to the first user based on the secondinput of information.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the secondrecommendation comprises at least one of an event, local areaattractions, dining options, and products for purchase.
 16. Theapparatus provided by the business of claim 5, wherein the processor isfurther configured to present a map that rotates in accordance withchanges in the directional movement of the apparatus.
 17. The method ofclaim 1, wherein updating the good or service offered by the businesscomprises changing the service offered by the business to a plurality ofusers based on the targeted recommendation derived from the first inputof information from the first user.